Move Your Car! The Street Sweepers are Coming

Information submitted by the Office of the Mayor in Salem

Mayor Kim Driscoll announced that street sweeping begins on Tuesday, April 22, on Salem's entrance corridors. Beginning on May 12, sweepers start cleaning residential streets in neighborhoods.

“Street sweeping season is a welcome time in Salem and it coincides with the City-wide Clean Salem, Green Salem beautification efforts,” stated Mayor Driscoll. “As always, we are asking residents to help us as we get our roadways clean by removing cars from your street on days when your street is to be swept.”

Due to the Monday Patriots Day holiday, entrance corridor sweeping begins on Tuesday, April 22, and continues through May 2. Residents should consult the "No Parking/Tow Zone" signs posted along each of these entrance corridors that notify drivers of what day parking restrictions are in effect. As in the past, entrance corridor sweeping schedules alternate between the odd and even sides of the street so residents are able to alternate parking their cars on the opposite side of the street during scheduled sweeping days. Parking is prohibited from 5-7 a.m. on scheduled entrance corridor sweep days. Entrance Corridor sweeping will be completed by May 2.

John Tomasz, director of public services, said, “It has been a long winter and the Public Services Department used a great deal of sand, and now we are ready to clean it up. Please help us by removing your vehicles from the street on your assigned sweeping day.”

Beginning Monday, May 12, and running through May 23, residential neighborhood street sweeping will take place on  both sides of the street on the same day. Each neighborhood route will be posted with temporary ‘No Parking/Tow Zone’ signs and parking will be prohibited between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

City streets are broken down into two zones. Streets in Zone One are swept during the week of May 12–16 and streets in Zone Two are swept during the week of May 19–23. A more detailed schedule is available online at www.salem.com.

Sweep days are the next day after the regularly scheduled trash day. To find a specific street sweeping date, locate what zone the street is in on the 2014 Residential Street Sweeping Schedule and match it with the calendar. Monday sweep schedules are for the preceding Friday's trash day. For example, if you live on Atlantic Street, which has a Friday trash pickup, you are located in Zone One and both sides of your street will be swept on Monday, May 12.

Residents will be able to use some entrance corridor streets as alternative parking areas on the day of their neighborhood sweep, but close attention must be paid to the parking restrictions already in place on these main streets. All posted parking restrictions on these streets are in effect and apply, even if a resident is parking a car there due to a scheduled sweep on their street. Once a street is swept, residents will be able to move their vehicles back onto their street. 

For a detailed schedule log onto the News & Announcements page or the Department of Public Works page at www.salem.com, pick one up at City Hall or the Salem Public Library, or call the DPS office at 978-744-3302.

The City will also use its CodeRed automated calling system. Residents and businesses can add their phone numbers and/or email addresses to the CodeRED system by clicking on the 'CodeRED' icon at www.salem.com. Registration only takes a minute and will ensure notification of emergency and non-emergency messages from the City of Salem. Another method of communication used for street sweeping information is the City's email updates. Individuals can sign-up to receive a variety of notices by clicking the green ‘E-Mail Subscriber’ button at www.salem.com and checking the News & Announcements category. Residents are urged to register for both the CodeRED and www.salem.com E-Mail Subscriber systems, as the City uses each system independently.

Illuminated message boards will be placed throughout the city announcing street sweeping and temporary tow zone signs will be placed throughout designated sweeping areas.

Certain weather conditions prohibit the use of the street sweepers: during moderate to heavy rainfall and extreme cold temperatures sweepers will not be able to operate. Weather cancellations will be posted on www.salem.com